The first two games for a new-look team have gone about as well as Hofstra could have hoped.
Seton Hall’s first two games with an overhauled roster have not been as fruitful.
Seton Hall will look to bounce back from a stunning defeat and Hofstra will aim to remain perfect Wednesday night, when the teams meet in the second game of the “Icons of the Game” doubleheader at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.
Seton Hall has been off since Saturday, when the Pirates suffered a 57-56 loss to visiting Fordham in South Orange, N.J. Hofstra last played Friday, when the host Pride beat Iona 90-76 in Hempstead, N.Y.
Fordham’s Jackie Johnson III sank a floater at the buzzer to hand Seton Hall (1-1) its first nonconference regular-season loss at the on-campus Walsh Gymnasium since 1989.
But it was the second straight frustrating outing for the Pirates, who return just three scholarship players — starting guard Dylan Addae-Wusu, forward Isaiah Coleman and little-used forward David Tubek — and 18.7 percent of the scoring from last season’s NIT champions.
Seton Hall, which was picked to finish 10th in the 11-team Big East, needed to mount a second-half comeback to edge Saint Peter’s 57-53 in the season opener Nov. 4. The Pirates last scored fewer than 60 points in consecutive games on March 9-10, 2022.
“Two games in a row teams outscrapped us, which is not good,” Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway said. “That’s kind of what we do. But we’ll get better, we’ll learn from this. And when we put it together, it’ll be really good.”
The adjustment process has gone smoother thus far for Hofstra (2-0), which was picked to finish fourth in the 14-team Coastal Athletic Association. The Pride, whose campus is located across the street from Nassau Coliseum, returned just 15.8 percent of the scoring from last season’s 20-win squad.
But the new rotation has jelled for Hofstra, which had five double-digit scorers in each of the first two games. Jaquan Sanders, who spent the previous two seasons at Seton Hall, is 10-of-21 from 3-point land while Jean Aranguren, an Iona transfer, flirted with a triple-double Friday (18 points, nine rebounds, nine assists) as the Pride led nearly wire-to-wire.
“We’re still a work in progress,” said Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton, who played for the school from 1996-2000 before seven seasons in the NBA. “We’re getting there. We’re getting there. I’m happy with where we’re at right now.”
This will be just the sixth all-time meeting between the schools, which are located about 50 miles apart, and the first since Seton Hall earned a 60-58 win on Dec. 31, 1970. The Pirates lead the series 4-1.
–Field Level Media
